This invention relates to label holders and product identification tags for merchandise suspended from a horizontally extending support hook or the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to label holders which are easily attached to and removed from product support hooks without being subject to inadvertent removal.
Label holders or product identification tags are known in the art. They are conventionally formed from a plastic sheet which is die cut into the appropriate shape so as to display product information forwardly of items suspended from a horizontally extending hook. The hook can extend from a pegboard or the like. The holder includes a mounting portion arranged to be temporarily deformed while being attached to and removed from the hook at a location adjacent to the board, an intermediate portion which projects forwardly over the support hook, and the merchandise supported thereon, and a display portion which bends downwardly from the distal end of the intermediate portion in front of the hook so as to display the desired product identification and information data.
Many known label holders are prone to lateral bending or flexing of the holder along its intermediate portion as a result of customers contacting the holder. This results in the display portion of the holder being positioned beside the suspended merchandise and not in front of it. Thus, the label holder is out of view of customers. Such bending or flexing can occur when a merchandise item is being removed from an adjacent hook by a customer who accidentally brushes against the holder. In order to deal with this problem, one known product employs longitudinally extending ribs or longitudinal rows of perforations along the intermediate portion. These are meant to promote transverse flexure of the intermediate portion of the holder into a bowed configuration to reinforce the holder against longitudinal and lateral flexure. Another known product employs side wings which are integral with and extend downwardly from the side edges or margins of the intermediate portion to impart longitudinal stiffness to the intermediate portion. The side wings are folded downwardly from the intermediate portion along longitudinally extending preformed fold lines so that the wings are located substantially perpendicular to the plane of the intermediate portion and are co-extensive in length with the intermediate portion. Other manufacturers simply use thicker sheet material for the intermediate portion in order to provide more stability and resistance to lateral bending.
Still another known product uses scalloping on downwardly turned edges of the intermediate portion to stabilize the intermediate portion. This structure also prevents packages supported on the hook from sliding forward or backward along the hook. Another way of stabilizing the intermediate portion of the label holder on the hook, while at the same time preventing movement of articles on the hook, is by means of a tab which folds downwardly out of the intermediate portion and around the hook via at least one aperture in the tab to accommodate the hook.
It is also known to provide a slot near the distal end of the intermediate portion in order to accommodate a tip of the hook. This design is meant to prevent both a drooping of the intermediate portion and lateral movement of the label holder in relation to the hook.
All of these means for preventing longitudinal flexure of the intermediate portion and a drooping of the distal end of the intermediate portion have drawbacks.
Perforations or creases which promote transverse flexure of this strip into a bowed configuration when the strip is squeezed laterally necessitate a means for perforating or creasing the intermediate portion and an additional means for squeezing the strip laterally to produce the bowed configuration. Employing wings along the sides of the intermediate portion necessitates the use of additional material for the intermediate portion. It also necessitates a means for folding down the wings before use of the label holder so that the wings can perform their stiffening function. The provision of an aperture near the distal end of the intermediate portion to accommodate a tip of the hook does not prevent a lateral motion of the intermediate portion and only prevents further sagging of the intermediate portion.
Further, it is known to provide a hanger guard which has a series of spaced ribs extending along an intermediate portion of the guard at a location rearwardly of a bubble which enshrouds the top and sides of the tip. This guard is a one piece member molded of resiliently flexible plastic. However, such a design would need to be modified to be used as a label holder. In addition, the provision of multiple spaced ribs means that the part requires a complex mold to manufacture.
Accordingly, it has been considered desirable to develop a new and improved label holder which would overcome the foregoing difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.